Previous
Chapter 30
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Kind, Kindness, and Discrimination
The Power of Books
Hardship and Humanity
Change and Modernization
Autonomy and Interdependence
Summary
Analysis
The longer Cussy Mary takes the medicine, the worse the side effects become. By July 2, she can barely make it up Hogtail Mountain. She doesn’t want to have to climb the stairs of the watchtower, but with no sign of R.C. she resignedly starts. He opens the door when she is on the first landing. They’re both shocked: he because Cussy is white, she because he’s been badly beaten. Behind him is a girl who also sports a split lip and black eye.
Like other patrons and friends, R.C. has always valued Cussy Mary, even when she was blue. She’s feeling sorry for herself as she starts to climb up the stairs, but as soon as she realizes that he himself has been hurt, she remembers that she’s not the only one who faces hardship in life.
Themes
While R.C. goes back upstairs to get her some water, the girl talks with Cussy Mary. She’s Ruth Beck, R.C.’s girl, and she’s very proud of her man. Between the two young folks, Cussy gets the whole story: Ruth’s father was angered by his proposal and so he beat Ruth. R.C. had to fight Ruth’s father and brothers to prove his worth, but once he had “earned” her, the family blessed their marriage and welcomed him into the clan.
R.C. took it upon himself to earn Ruth over the objections of her family by proving himself to be the kind of man who could take care of her, showing off his independent streak. The outdated ritual also underscores how slowly this rural corner of Kentucky is modernizing.
Themes
Cussy Mary leaves R.C. a flyer for the Independence Day celebration and an American Forests magazine she set aside for him. She can’t imagine a man loving her as he loves Ruth. As she descends the stairs, R.C. asks her to take care of herself. She’s important to her patrons, and they can’t have her sick or dead.
R.C. and Ruth both inspire Cussy Mary and make her sad because she doesn’t feel that she’s loveable. The fact that she still feels this way, even though her skin is currently white, suggests that she realizes that she won’t fit into white society after living outside its walls for so long. Nevertheless, R.C. reminds her that she is, and has always been, valued by her friends and patrons.
Themes
